Monday evening June 26

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.Lord, come quickly and help us.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:to you be praise and glory forever.As darkness falls you renew your promiseto reveal among us the light of your presence.By the light of Christ, your living Word,dispel the darkness of our heartsthat we may walk as children of lightand sing your praise throughout the world.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,so may your mercy come down upon usto cleanse our heartsand set us free to sing your praisenow and forever.Amen.

Hymn

Rejoice, the Lord is King!

Charles Wesley

Rejoice, the Lord is King!Your Lord and King adore,Mortals, give thanks, and sing,And triumph evermore;Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

Jesus the Savior reigns,The God of truth and love,When he had purged our stains,He took his seat above:Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

His kingdom cannot fail,He rules over earth and heaven;The keys of death and hellAre to our Jesus given:Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

He sits at God’s right hand,Till all his foes submit,And bow to his command,And fall beneath his feet.Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,Rejoice, again, I say, rejoice.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

My God, for love of youI desire to hate and forsake all sinsby which I have ever displeased you;and I resolve by the help of your graceto commit them no more;and to avoid all opportunities of sin.Help me to do this,through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace,and nourish us with his blessing;the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;the Lord accept our prayers,and absolve us from our offenses,for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 47

Refrain:Sing praises to God! Sing praises!

Clap your hands, all you people! Shout joyfully to God with a joyous shout!Because the Lord Most High is awesome, he is the great king of the whole world.He subdues the nations under us, subdues all people beneath our feet.He chooses our inheritance for us: the heights of Jacob, which he loves. God has gone up with a joyous shout— the Lord with the blast of the ram’s horn.Sing praises to God! Sing praises! Sing praises to our king! Sing praises because God is king of the whole world! Sing praises with a song of instruction!God is king over the nations. God sits on his holy throne.The leaders of all people are gathered with the people of Abraham’s God because the earth’s guardians belong to God; God is exalted beyond all.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Sing praises to God! Sing praises!

Psalm prayer

As Christ was raised by your glory, O Father,so may we be raised to new lifeand rejoice to be called your children,both now and forever.

Psalm 49

Refrain:Happy are those who trust in the Lord.

Listen to this, all you people! Listen closely, all you citizens of the world— people of every kind, rich and poor alike!My mouth speaks wisdom; my heart’s meditation is full of insight.I will pay close attention to a proverb; I will explain my riddle on the lyre.

Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, when the wrongdoing of my bullies engulfs me— those people who trust in their fortunes and boast of their fantastic wealth?Wealth? It can’t save a single person! It can’t pay a life’s ransom-price to God.The price to save someone’s life is too high— wealth will never be enough— no one can live forever without experiencing the pit.

Everyone knows that the wise die too, just like foolish and stupid people do, all of them leaving their fortunes to others.Their graves are their eternal homes, the place they live for all generations, even if they had counties named after them!People won’t live any longer because of wealth; they’re just like the animals that pass away.

That’s how it goes for those who are foolish, as well as for those who follow their lead, pleased with their talk.Like sheep, they’re headed straight for the grave. Death will be their shepherd— but those who do right in their hearts will rule over them come morning!— their forms wasting away in the grave rather than having some dignified residence.But God will save my life from the power of the grave, because he will take me.

Don’t be overly impressed when someone becomes rich, their house swelling to fantastic proportions, because when they die, they won’t take any of it with them. Their fantastic things won’t accompany them down under.Though they consider themselves blessed during their lives, and even thank you when you deal well with them, they too will join the ancestors who’ve gone ahead; they too will never see the light again.Wealthy people? They just don’t understand; they’re just like the animals that pass away.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Happy are those who trust in the Lord.

Psalm prayer

Save us from envy, God our Redeemer,and deliver us from the chains of wealth,that, ransomed through your Son,we may inherit the crown of everlasting life;through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament readingJudges 2

The Lord’s messenger came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you are not to make a covenant with those who live in this land. You should break down their altars.’ But you didn’t obey me. What have you done? So now I tell you, I won’t drive them out before you, but they’ll be a problem for you, and their gods will be a trap for you.” When the Lord’s messenger spoke these words to all the Israelites, they raised their voices and cried out loud. So they named that place Bochim, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord there.

When Joshua dismissed the people, the Israelites each went to settle on their own family property in order to take possession of the land. The people served the Lord throughout the rest of Joshua’s life and throughout the next generation of elders who outlived him, those who had seen all the great things that the Lord had done for Israel. Joshua, Nun’s son and the Lord’s servant, died when he was 110 years old. They buried him within the boundaries of his family property in Timnath-heres in the highlands of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. When that whole generation had passed away, another generation came after them who didn’t know the Lord or the things that he had done for Israel.

Then the Israelites did things that the Lord saw as evil: They served the Baals; and they went away from the Lord, their ancestors’ God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods from among the surrounding peoples, they worshipped them, and they angered the Lord. They went away from the Lord and served Baal and the Astartes. So the Lord became angry with Israel, and he handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He let them be defeated by their enemies around them, so that they were no longer able to stand up to them. Whenever the Israelites marched out, the Lord’s power worked against them, just as the Lord had warned them. And they were very distressed.

Then the Lord raised up leaders to rescue them from the power of these raiders. But they wouldn’t even obey their own leaders because they were unfaithful, following other gods and worshipping them. They quickly deviated from the way of their ancestors, who had obeyed the Lord’s commands, and didn’t follow their example.

The Lord was moved by Israel’s groaning under those who oppressed and crushed them. So the Lord would raise up leaders for them, and the Lord would be with the leader, and he would rescue Israel from the power of their enemies as long as that leader lived.

But then when the leader died, they would once again act in ways that weren’t as good as their ancestors’, going after other gods, to serve them and to worship them. They wouldn’t drop their bad practices or hardheaded ways. So the Lord became angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I required of their ancestors and hasn’t obeyed me, I in turn will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died.” As a test for Israel, to see whether they would carefully walk in the Lord’s ways just as their ancestors had done, the Lord left these nations instead of driving them out immediately or handing them over to Joshua.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingLuke 13:1-9

Some who were present on that occasion told Jesus about the Galileans whom Pilate had killed while they were offering sacrifices. He replied, “Do you think the suffering of these Galileans proves that they were more sinful than all the other Galileans? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will die just as they did. What about those eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them? Do you think that they were more guilty of wrongdoing than everyone else who lives in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you change your hearts and lives, you will die just as they did.”

Jesus told this parable: “A man owned a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. He said to his gardener, ‘Look, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for the past three years, and I’ve never found any. Cut it down! Why should it continue depleting the soil’s nutrients?’ The gardener responded, ‘Lord, give it one more year, and I will dig around it and give it fertilizer. Maybe it will produce fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.’”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favoredbecause the mighty one has done great things for me.Holy is his name.He shows mercy to everyone,from one generation to the next,who honors him as God.He has shown strength with his arm.He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.He has pulled the powerful down from their thronesand lifted up the lowly.He has filled the hungry with good thingsand sent the rich away empty-handed.He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,remembering his mercy, just as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offeredfor peacefor individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The media and the artsFarming and fishingCommerce and industryThose whose work is unfulfilling, stressful or fraught with dangerAll who are unemployed

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, by your SpiritBring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Lord, you have taught usthat all our doings without love are worth nothing.Send your Holy Spiritand pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,the true bond of peace and of all virtues,without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ's sake,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,and the love of God,and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,be with us all evermore.Amen.